The Divine Comedy

Renowned poet and critic Clive James presents the crowning achievement of his career: a monumental translation into English verse of Dante’s The Divine Comedy. The Divine Comedy is the precursor of modern literature, and this translation - decades in the making - gives us the entire epic as a single, coherent and compulsively listenable lyric poem. Written in the early 14th century and completed in 1321, the year of Dante’s death, The Divine Comedy is perhaps the greatest work of epic poetry ever composed.

Beowulf

Beowulf is considered the finest heroic poem in Old English. It celebrates the character and exploits of Beowulf, a young nobleman and warrior, as he proves his superhuman strength and endurance. He also represents the ideal lord and vassal, rewarding his men generously and accomplishing glorious deeds to honor his king.

Paradise Regained

In Paradise Regained, Satan again is on the prowl, having successfully tempted Adam and Eve, and forced their departure from the Garden of Eden. Here he sets out to tempt again, this time Jesus himself, as he comes to the end of his 40 days in the desert. The magisterial poetry of Milton enriches the encounter and, while not matching the greatness achieved in Paradise Lost, provides drama and depth.

The Canterbury Tales: A New Unabridged Translation by Burton Raffel

Lively, absorbing, often outrageously funny, Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales is a work of genius, an undisputed classic that has held a special appeal for each generation of readers. The Tales gathers 29 of literature's most enduring (and endearing) characters in a vivid group portrait that captures the full spectrum of medieval society, from the exalted Knight to the humble Plowman. This unabridged work is based on the new translation.

The Faerie Queene

This remarkable poem, dedicated to Queen Elizabeth I, was Spenser's finest achievement. The first epic poem in modern English, The Faerie Queene combines dramatic narratives of chivalrous adventure with exquisite and picturesque episodes of pageantry. At the same time, Spenser is expounding a deeply-felt allegory of the eternal struggle between Truth and Error....

A Passage to India

Dr. Aziz is a young Muslim physician in the British Indian town of Chandrapore. One evening he comes across an English woman, Mrs. Moore, in the courtyard of a local mosque; she and her younger travelling companion Adela are disappointed by claustrophobic British colonial culture and wish to see something of the 'real' India. But when Aziz kindly offers to take them on a tour of the Marabar caves with his close friend Cyril Fielding, the trip results in a shocking accusation....

Gulliver's Travels: A Signature Performance by David Hyde Pierce

A Signature Performance: Four-time Emmy Award winner David Hyde Pierce delivers an air of lovable self-importance in his rendition of the classic social satire that remains as fresh today as the day it was published.

Beyond Good and Evil

Continuing where Thus Spoke Zarathustra left off, Nietzsche's controversial work Beyond Good and Evil is one of the most influential philosophical texts of the 19th century and one of the most controversial works of ideology ever written. Attacking the notion of morality as nothing more than institutionalised weakness, Nietzsche criticises past philosophers for their unquestioning acceptance of moral precepts. Nietzsche tried to formulate what he called "the philosophy of the future".

Faust

The two-part poem Faust tells the beautifully emotional story of a man who has seen and done it all. However, despite all of his learning and education, his life still feels empty and unaccomplished. He believes wholeheartedly that there is something else out there. Faust, having exhausted all other fields of study, turns to magic for fulfillment. He summons the devil and makes a pact - that if the devil can show him something rewarding and fulfilling, he will give the devil his soul.

Crime and Punishment

In this intense detective thriller instilled with philosophical, religious, and social commentary, Dostoevsky studies the psychological impact upon a desperate and impoverished student when he murders a despicable pawnbroker, transgressing moral law to ultimately "benefit humanity".

Ulysses

Ulysses is regarded by many as the single most important novel of the 20th century. It tells the story of one day in Dublin, June 16th 1904, largely through the eyes of Stephen Dedalus (Joyce's alter ego from Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man) and Leopold Bloom, an advertising salesman. Both begin a normal day, and both set off on a journey around the streets of Dublin, which eventually brings them into contact with one another.

Moby-Dick

Labeled variously a realistic story of whaling, a romance of unusual adventure and eccentric characters, a symbolic allegory, and a drama of heroic conflict, Moby Dick is first and foremost a great story. It has both the humor and poignancy of a simple sea ballad, as well as the depth and universality of a grand odyssey.

Crime and Punishment: CliffsNotes

The CliffsNotes study guide on Fyodor Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment supplements the original literary work, giving you background information about the author, an introduction to the work, a graphical character map, critical commentaries, expanded glossaries, and a comprehensive index, all for you to use as an educational tool that will allow you to better understand the work. This study guide was written with the assumption that you have read Crime and Punishment.

Inferno: From The Divine Comedy

"Abandon all hope you who enter here." ("Lasciate ogne speranza voi ch’intrate.") Dante’s Hell is one of the most remarkable visions in Western literature. An allegory for his and future ages, it is, at the same time, an account of terrifying realism. Passing under a lintel emblazoned with these frightening words, the poet is led down into the depths by Virgil and shown those doomed to suffer eternal torment for vices exhibited and sins committed on earth.

The Aeneid

The publication of a new translation by Fagles is a literary event. His translations of both the Iliad and Odyssey have sold hundreds of thousands of copies and have become the standard translations of our era. Now, with this stunning modern verse translation, Fagles has reintroduced Virgil's Aeneid to a whole new generation, and completed the classical triptych at the heart of Western civilization.

Plato's Gorgias

Gorgias of Leontini, a famous teacher of rhetoric, has come to Athens to recruit students, promising to teach them how to become leaders in politics and business. A group has gathered at Callicles' house to hear Gorgias demonstrate the power of his art. This dialogue blends comic and serious discussion of the best life, providing a penetrating examination of ethics.

Robinson Crusoe

Shipwrecked and cast ashore onto an uninhabited island, Robinson Crusoe ingeniously carves out a solitary, primitive existence for 24 years. Eventually, he meets a young native whom he saves from death at the hands of cannibals. He calls him Man Friday and makes him his companion and servant.

Publisher's Summary

"Of Man's First Disobedience, and the FruitOf that Forbidden Tree, whose mortal tasteBrought Death into the World, and all our woe...."

So begins the greatest epic poem in the English language. In words remarkable for their richness of rhythm and imagery, Milton tells the story of man's creation, fall, and redemption, "to justify the ways of God to men". Here, unabridged, and told with exceptional sensitivity and power by Anton Lesser, is the plight of Adam and Eve, the ambition and vengefulness of Satan and his cohorts.

This edition of Paradise Lost seems superior to the one narrated by Fredrick Davidson, which is also available on Audible. Davidson'a intonations are more emphatic, but he misses the stately regality and austerity which are more appropriate for this epic.

Short music precedes each of the books of the poem, the baroque nature of which helps to prime the reader for a magnificent theme. Paradise Lost itself has been compared to organ music, and the analogy is an apt one.

Of course, listening to this audiobook with full perception requires wholehearted attention; it is not the one to mitigate the boredom of jogging or divert the mind while doing laundry.

Have you ever read the Book of Job? In the Book of Job, Lucifer approaches God and tells him that he has been to and fro across the entire world, and basically states that everyone in the world is a sinner and deserves to go to hell (paraphrase).

God replies by asking Lucifer if he has seen his servant Job. Satan responds that Job is only good, because of all the good things God has blessed him with. "take away all those good things, and Job will curse God". And thus begins the memorable story of Job's testing by Satan, God's protection, and the ultimate blessing on Job for his faith in God.

In Job, the reader is given a rare glimpse into some Heavenly workings, such as: what the armies of Heaven can be like, the Throne Room of God, Temptation from spiritual forces, and how God responds to rebel angels, and etc...

Milton, in his book Paradise Lost, has taken the same approach in story-telling to show how Satan led one-third of the angels of Heaven in an attempt to usurp the throne of God for their own glory, God's reprisal, and later how the Fallen sought to disrupt God's creation(s).

Although published in 1667, 'Paradise Lost' carries the power of religious truth that is still relevant today. The language, however, can present problems for modern ears. Milton seems to especially love to use words like: adamantine, obdurate, importune, and etc... Milton was obviously creating high-poetry on par with his subject, though sometimes it can feel almost too lofty to be attainable. The imagery, if patient, can be striking and profound, when Milton's voice is not so present.

Anton Lesser does a fine job of speaking life into the words without seeming artificial (though occasionally it can take on the tone of a Shakesperian play).

I would recommend this as an important listen, if you are in the right state of mind for such epic imagery (and sometimes tiring vocabulary).

Where does Paradise Lost rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

It's particularly easy to enjoy the poem in audio format since one doesn't get sidetracked by archaic spellings, etc.

What does Anton Lesser bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I was very pleased with Anton Lesser's recording. There is a more highly rated recording available on Audible. I listened to the samples, and concluded that Lesser understood what he was reading. Listening to the entire poem confirmed that for me. Very well done!

I read and loved Milton in grad school, thanks to an outstanding professor. I have not read him recently, but hearing the blind poet read is how most people experienced him for many years. The work's greatness is even more apparent when heard than when read. This is not a work to breeze through either way, however.

I have yet to listen to the complete recording, but know this is one that I will treasure, playing over and over. The sound of Milton's epic is so much of the poetry and the meaning, and it helps to have an excellent reader.

Allowing the words to flow over me I was touched and enthralled by the beauty, tragedy, joy and magnificence in the scale that the epic portrays. Listening provoked me to read and reading, contemplate the beauty and affliction of our existence, contrasting what might have been with our human condition. <br/>Belief is not a prerequisite any more than any mythic tales handed down through the ages require. Perfection, an idea implanted innately in the psyche languishes in the real world yet frustrates all our efforts to confound an uncompromising world.

Paradise Lost is one of those books that can be hard to deal with if you try to read through it on your own. The different spellings of words and the archaic language could drive you crazy.

Luckily, a good voice talent can bring the text alive, or, at the very least, give it clarity.

Anton Lesser is just such a voice talent. Even though I have only played the first few minutes of this recording, I can tell he really gets it.

Lesser is a Naxos regular, and he's recorded a lot of Shakespeare. Since Shakespeare and Milton both wrote in blank verse, I have to wonder if doing all that Shakespeare helped him prepare for Milton. He certainly knows how to pace the reading, and he truly understands the power of good poetry.

Paradise lost is a poem that gains greatly by being read aloud. Passages which on the printed page may seem convoluted and obscure can be made clear by a good reader, and Anton Lesser is, as always not merely a good but an outstanding reader. His voice at first may seem slight and lacking resonance but he follows the argument and pace of the narrative with great intelligence and is able to differentiate and characterise convincingly all the different voices that speak in the poem. This skill is essential, since unlike the abridged version published by Naxos some years ago, he is the sole narrator. As such he does a superb job throughout the long and varied length of this poem.
The old Argo recording of substantial portions of the epic still seems to me unmatched -with Tony Church as a superb narrator, Michael Redgrave as a splendidly theatrical Satan, Michael Hordern as a plausible God the father, Prunella scales as a movingly characterised Eve. The use of different voices is undoubtably better and more in keeping with the strong dramatic element in this epic. It is a pity that this and other Argo recordings are no longer available. But Anton Lesser as a single narrator does the job perhaps as well as it can be done (and is certainly preferable to the pedestrian version by Frederic Davidson). If you know Paradise Lost, you will find Anton Lessor's reading always clear and often illuminating.If you are approaching this marvellous poem for the first time, this reading is an ideal way to gain an overview of the whole epic.

67 of 70 people found this review helpful

Dominic

6/2/16

Overall

Performance

Story

"Excellent narration of a classc"

Paradise Lost was always something I wanted to read but never got round to. This is an excellent performance; Anton Lesser brings the text to life, imbuing the characters with power and emotion. Because of this, I would recommend this audiobook over the print version any day of the week.

9 of 9 people found this review helpful

Francis

Liverpool, United Kingdom

12/6/07

Overall

"Sonorous metal"

Paradise lost is a poem that gains greatly by being read aloud. Passages which on the printed page may seem convoluted and obscure can be made clear by a good reader, and Anton Lesser is, as always not merely a good but an outstanding reader. His voice at first may seem slight and lacking resonance but he follows the argument and pace of the narrative with great intelligence and is able to differentiate and characterise convincingly all the different voices that speak in the poem. This skill is essential, since unlike the abridged version published by Naxos some years ago, he is the sole narrator. As such he does a superb job throughout the long and varied length of this poem.
The old Argo recording of substantial portions of the epic still seems to me unmatched -with Tony Church as a superb narrator, Michael Redgrave as a splendidly theatrical Satan, Michael Hordern as a plausible God the father, Prunella scales as a movingly characterised Eve. The use of different voices is undoubtably better and more in keeping with the strong dramatic element in this epic. It is a pity that this and other Argo recordings are no longer available. But Anton Lesser as a single narrator does the job perhaps as well as it can be done (and is certainly preferable to the pedestrian version by Frederic Davidson). If you know Paradise Lost, you will find Anton Lessor's reading always clear and often illuminating.If you are approaching this marvellous poem for the first time, this reading is an ideal way to gain an overview of the whole epic.

15 of 16 people found this review helpful

Christopher

7/25/14

Overall

Performance

Story

"Lesser Oratorio"

If you could sum up Paradise Lost in three words, what would they be?

Seminal, opinionated, blind.

Would you be willing to try another book from John Milton? Why or why not?

Milton is very much the key to the Puritan Commonwealth, and a huge influence on most later English writing down to about the 1920's. If you want to understand the Puritan regime, you probably need to read lots of Milton. If you only want to know what happened next (after Shakespeare) Paradise Lost on its own is probably enough (especially in this version).

Which character – as performed by Anton Lesser – was your favourite?

One of the strengths of Lesser's performance is that he allows the blur between (say) Satan and Moloch to come through, without entirely obliterating the difference between their characters. Milton's characters are not strongly differentiated (the way that Shakespeare's and Marlowe's are) - this is a Borg world. Lesser is nearly unique among readers in showing this without letting it become a weakness.

If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

You can't film Paradise Lost. Milton was blind by the time he wrote it. It is an invisible poem- that is half the point.

Any additional comments?

The Puritans shut the theatres for a generation, but Milton's early work Comus is a play without the costumes, the scenery, or most of the characterisation. Paradise Lost is best thought of as an Oratorio: a drama, but with most of the action removed, and a heavy dollop of moralising to make up for that. Lesser has the dramatic skills of an actor, but also the penetration of a philosopher. You need both for this hybrid work. Anton Lesser's reading is by far the most coherent of the many available.

13 of 14 people found this review helpful

C. WATT

Aberdeen UK

9/13/14

Overall

Performance

Story

"Perfect"

What does Anton Lesser bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

Lessers narration was brilliant , giving a much clearer understanding of what can be at times a complex text.

Any additional comments?

Definitely worth getting, I probably would never have finished the book had I been reading it!

10 of 11 people found this review helpful

Astrid Marshall

7/13/15

Overall

Performance

Story

"Making sense of Milton"

Anton Lesser's sensitive reading of Paradise Lost made it, for me, a wonderful walk through the maze of Milton's endless confusion of clauses and sub-clauses. By means of subtle alteration to timbre, tone and volume, Lesser gives each of the many voices character and colour. Now, when I re-read Milton's amazing poem, I will do it hearing Anton Lesser's beautifully moderated voice at every word. Pure joy.

9 of 10 people found this review helpful

Roisin Deighan

6/17/17

Overall

Performance

Story

"Wonderful"

A beautifully performed work which greatly enhances this classic masterpiece of poetry and theology, to make it a thrilling drama, even if we know the end.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

dave

5/7/17

Overall

Performance

Story

"Lesser is more"

Milton freaks me out. Anton Lesser's readings are superb. I'd like to see him do a Bond Villain. Then people would know what a Bond villain is.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Suswati

4/27/17

Overall

Performance

Story

"Better to read otherwise hard to concentrate"

While Milton's classic fails to live up to Dante's Inferno, it's still an interesting listen. Admittedly I completely switched off listening, it requires careful reading to understand some of the old dialect - similar to accessing Shakespeare without any context. I can vouch for reading as a fan of Shakespeare, Dante and Chaucer.

The in-between explanations barely scratched the surface. The obvious irritiating misogynistic aspect was also a big turn-off although understandably rehashing some fundamental themes of the Bible. Overall, sinfully boring to listen to.

0 of 2 people found this review helpful

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